Vacuum Sealers

lilolpeapicker, I don't have any suggestions but wanted to keep this post going so others could offer suggestions.

I've typically used containers for frozen produce as I often make them in stews or soups, then freeze for a quick meal later on. For salads, I like fresh produce. I suspect reuben uses them for his backpacking activities, so he might have suggestions.

Hey pea- what about this
i.boredomtherapy.com/seal-frozen-foods/?bdk=a799&as=799&ch=bt

corn on the cob


desertwoman , I have a hard time get all the air out of the bags and wind up with off tasting veggies...  looking for a good way to get that air out.  I have tried suggestions from the past but it seems to be my problem. I guess I am all thumbs.  

lilolpeapicker I had a Foodsaver that lasted over 15 years, before it bit the dust, but I got so much use out of it, it didn't owe me anything! It had saved me a lot, through the years, between the frozen items, and the dry things, like teas, spices, and grains, that I also keep in vacuum bags. I quickly got a new one, which I have now. This one have some additional features - faster, and able to seal wetter bags, mainly the blood in meat, but also the moisture in vegetables. However, I usually freeze things like that until crystallized, but not entirely frozen, then seal them - they are still flexible this way, and almost all of the air is sucked out of them.

You definitely want to get a good model - cheap ones often require you to hold the door down while sealing, and the seal is sometimes narrower, and can break apart.

I use rolls of the plastic more than bags - much cheaper this way, and I can cut to size. The 6" and 8" rolls I use the most, but the 12" I occasionally use for the large things. This model has a cavity that a roll can be stored in, and a cutter, to make it easy to cut to size.
Well used Foodsaver, Gamesaver Deluxe Plus by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Opened Foodsaver, showing cutter and storage sector for the roll. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Closer up of the Foodsaver settings. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The Foodsavers I've had also have had a gadget to vacuum seal large and small mouthed mason jars - something that I do with some things that I don't use very often. The absence of oxygen helps them last much longer. This photo shows the shelf I slide the Foodsaver under, when not using it - something that keeps it easy to use, with things stored above it.
Foodsaver, in storage area, under simple shelf, with mason jar vacuum tool in front. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I use this for all meats, and some vegetables. I also use it for some dry goods, such as spices, tea, grains, and legumes, when I buy large amounts of things, when I get a good deal. Some things stay good vacuum sealed at room temp.; some, like cracked wheat, freekeh, brown rice, and millet, I have found still need to be frozen - otherwise, they go rancid, unless used quickly, esp. in the summer. So I store these in 3 cup vacuum sealed packs, and have 3 cup jars I refill, as needed. The larger quantities of things, like the 8 lb bags of various legumes I get from the Indian market, I'll fill the larger jars in the pantry, then vacuum seal a large bag, and refill the jars, and re-seal the bag, as needed.

When I first got a Foodsaver, I tested the plastic for how permeable it was for aromas, by sealing some minced onion and garlic in some. In a few days, it was fermenting, and swelling up, but there was still no onion or garlic aroma! This does not happen in ziplocs, or other plastic bags - a mason jar will seal, but plastic containers usually leak some of those potent aromas eventually. Peppers are another one of those aromas that tends to permeate other foods. Oh yeah - that's another thing that I vacuum seal: butter. Butter is one of those things that keeps much better, as it is isolated from oxygen, and those aromas it easily picks up. When it is on sale with coupons, I stock up on it!

And after these dry things, the bags are re-useable - they just get shorter each time.

I also have one, haven't used it in a while. It's a very old one and does not seal liquid things well at all. Any moisture in the edge to be sealed will prevent sealing.

I've been using mine a lot more lately.  Glad you're happy with your purchase.